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Mehmet Ali Birand: This time, the EU should understand Ankara well(Turkish Daily News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)I know a lot about international relations. It's my job. No one takes any prisoners in the international arena. Promises made, past debts and friendship mean nothing. Only interests are important. In Demirel's words, "Yesterday is yesterday and today is today." Knowing all these facts, I have written the article you're reading now. My purpose is to reach individuals involved in Turkey-EU relations in the 25 capitals of the union and in Brussels. My intention is to call on them to be realistic and not to take Turkey too lightly. The issue at hand is Turkey opening its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot planes and ships. Ankara made a promise. It will open is ports as part of the customs union agreement. There is no problem there. The problem is its timing and the Greek Cypriot stance. The Greek Cypriots are opposed to Turkey beginning the negotiations before it opens the ports. Turkey asks for no direct link between the negotiations and the opening of ports and wants the problem to be solved in its own time. In other words, it wants to tie the port problem to the entire Cyprus problem. Turkey says if it is to open the ports as soon as possible, the EU should also keep its word and suspend some of the restrictions it has imposed on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). The Greek Cypriots seem to have persuaded the EU. They claim any measure taken in this regard would mean recognizing the KKTC and dividing the island into two parts. The general attitude in the EU is leaning towards agreeing to Greek Cypriot demands and doing nothing for the KKTC. This definitely makes Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos very happy. It gives him the confidence to continue with his present policies. We are faced with a definite dead end. Turkey will not unilaterally open the ports: There is a fact that all EU officials need to understand and that is that the Turkish government will never agree to open its ports to Greek Cyprus without getting something favorable for the KKTC in return. No matter how much Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoethan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul may want to do it, they wouldn't dare. They would never be able to convince the public on their decision. They now this fact, and that's why they are saying, "We will never take unilateral measures." We need to take their stance seriously. The Turkish public does not know the intricacies of international diplomacy. It doesn't need to know about it. What it wants is respect shown to its sensitivities. International relations are dominated by injustice. Promises made yesterday will be forgotten today. Policies depend solely on national interests. However, all these facts can be accepted to a certain point. The Turkish public is under the impression that it is being deceived over the Cyprus issue. No matter what you may say about that, this is their perception. No Turkish government can take a step while ignoring such a determined public. On the other hand, I also feel cheated. I followed the preparations for the Annan plan from both a U.N. and an EU perspective. I know what was being talked about behind the scenes. I know how many sacrifices and hard decisions Turkey and the KKTC had to make and what their support for the Annan plan cost them. What happened next? The KKTC took all the risks. It renounced its old policy of seeking a confederation and accepted the Annan plan. Papadopoulos deceived U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He deceived European Commissioner for Enlargement Gunther Verheugen. He gave the impression that he would support the plan but incited his people when it went to a vote. He made sure his people rejected it. The plan failed. The KKTC was unable to enter the EU and could not rid itself of the sanctions imposed on it. The KKTC seems to have been punished for acting in line with international recommendations and the proposals made by the EU and the United States. The Greek Cypriots, on the other hand, became EU members. They were reprimanded for a short time before being treated as equals. Nowadays they are following a very hard-line policy. They are calling for ports to open before they agree to starting negotiations. This is too much. This attitude means making fun of people's intellect and patience. As long as the sanctions imposed on the KKTC are not suspended by the EU or the United States, Turkey should not open its ports to Greek Cypriot ships. A gesture is not enough: It was a very important gesture for British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to visit KKTC President Mehmet Ali Talat at his office, despite the Greek Cypriot protests. He sent a message to both Greek Cypriots and the international community. He showed everyone that he recognized Cyprus as a country where two people and two regions exist. There were many similar gestures from the EU in the past. We were all very happy when we saw members of the U.S. Congress and the EU Parliament visiting KKTC. However, this problem cannot be solved through gestures. The stance adopted by the British foreign secretary is nice, but the important thing is to take concrete steps. Gestures are forgotten after a while, but the Greek Cypriot veto to membership negotiations will always remain. The Greek Cypriots will continue to benefit from being an EU member. We want more concrete steps from Britain. London is known as the owner of Cyprus in the international arena and especially in the EU. It should act accordingly and should not limit itself to gestures |